The American Institute of Architects Small Project Practitioners Knowledge Community held a design competition that asked architects and architecture students to design a descreet, compact, and efficienct shelter for the homeless. The goal of the competition, called "A Safe Place," was to develop a simple, safe, and secure place for an individual to sleep and secure their belongings.
Those participating in the competition had to submit a design in any of the three categories: Un-secured shelter, semi-secure shelter, and shared facility. The submissions were required to be inexpensive to construct (less than $500 a unit), easily constructed without specialized equipment, temporary with no foundation, and protect the occupant from the outside elements through all four seasons.
Here are the winners:
Competition Award Recipient
Rolling Shelter (Un-Secured Shelter)
Eduardo Lacroze, AIA
Lacroze-Miguens-Prati Arquitectos
The shelter utilizes a shopping cart as a core component and means of transportation. With saddlebags for storage on one side and the other consisting of a foldout shelter, the entire unit can be easily transported. In shelter mode, it gives a structured enclosure that incorporates usage and storage within an insulated, weatherproofed, and vandal protected shell. The shelter can be assembled with a screwdriver with does not require any advanced building knowledge. The unit is equipped with a dual rolling Thermarest pad and built-in floor liner that coupled to the high R-value of the component panels themselves, provide adequate levels of thermal insulation.
Following the 2015 AIA National Convention in Atlanta, the shelter was donated to the local non-profit The Mad Housers, for use by their clients and program participants.
Honorable Mentions
Bankhead Box-Up (Semi-Secured Shelter)
Gregory Tsark, AIA, and Jessica Boudreaux
Tsark Architecture, LLC
An elevated box provides a sense of security, rather than resting at or near the ground level. The space beneath provides weather protection for a bicycle or other items. The box area is 8 feet long, 5 feet wide and 6 feet tall. Polycarbonate side panels provide ample daylighting while obscuring visibility for semi-privacy. Full privacy can be easily added with interior curtains. Security is achieved by locking down the top plank with a padlock and hasp. In the warmer months, upper planks may be removed to provide ventilation.
Sheltering Chicago (Semi-Secured Shelter)
Jeff Bone, AIA
Landon Bone Baker Architects
The shelter is intended to provide basic protection for one person. It will help keep them alive in extreme weather, providing a safe and secure temporary home in which to sleep and store a few personal belongings. The shelters are portable and can be transported around the city to available sites on a flatbed truck or trailer. The shelter module lends itself easily to be set up as a toilet room, food pantry, etc. when facilities are otherwise unavailable. This low threshold alternative to traditional ‘emergency shelter’ housing allows advocates and non-profits to focus on critical outreach, connecting the homeless with services and permanent housing.
The 2015 AIA SPP Small Project Design Competition Jury included:
• Nick Hess, The Mad Housers
• William Carpenter, FAIA, Lightroom
• Bart Shaw, Shaw Architects (Winner of the 2014 SPP Pop-Up)
• Joe A, Mad Housers Client
• Doug Hannah, AIA, Young Architects Forum representative
Related Stories
3D Printing | Sep 17, 2024
Alquist 3D and Walmart complete one of the nation’s largest free-standing, 3D-printed commercial structures
Walmart has completed one of the largest free-standing, 3D-printed commercial structures in the US. Alquist 3D printed the almost 8,000-sf, 20-foot-high addition to a Walmart store in Athens, Tenn. The expansion, which will be used for online pickup and delivery, is the first time Walmart has applied 3D printing technology at this scale.
Retail Centers | Sep 17, 2024
Thinking outside the big box (store)
For over a decade now, the talk of the mall industry has been largely focused on what developers can do to fill the voids left by a steady number of big box store closures. But what do you do when big box tenants stay put?
Government Buildings | Sep 17, 2024
OSHA’s proposed heat standard published in Federal Register
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has published a proposed standard addressing heat illness in outdoor and indoor settings in the Federal Register. The proposed rule would require employers to evaluate workplaces and implement controls to mitigate exposure to heat through engineering and administrative controls, training, effective communication, and other measures.
Codes and Standards | Sep 17, 2024
New California building code encourages, but does not mandate heat pumps
New California homes are more likely to have all-electric appliances starting in 2026 after the state’s energy regulators approved new state building standards. The new building code will encourage installation of heat pumps without actually banning gas heating.
Mass Timber | Sep 17, 2024
Marina del Rey mixed-use development is L.A.’s largest mass timber project
An office-retail project in Marina del Rey is Los Angeles’ largest mass timber project to date. Encompassing about 3 acres, the 42XX campus consists of three low-rise buildings that seamlessly connect with exterior walkways and stairways. The development provides 151,000 sf of office space and 1,500 sf of retail space.
Education Facilities | Sep 16, 2024
Hot classrooms, playgrounds spur K-12 school districts to go beyond AC for cooling
With hotter weather occurring during the school year, school districts are turning to cooling strategies to complement air conditioning. Reflective playgrounds and roads, cool roofs and window films, shade structures and conversion of asphalt surfaces to a natural state are all being tried in various regions of the country.
Office Buildings | Sep 16, 2024
Maximizing office square footage through ‘agile planning’
Lauren Elliott, RID, NCIDQ, Director of Interior Design, Design Collaborative, shares tips for a designing with a popular and flexible workspace model: Agile planning.
3D Printing | Sep 13, 2024
Swiss researchers develop robotic additive manufacturing method that uses earth-based materials—and not cement
Researchers at ETH Zurich, a university in Switzerland, have developed a new robotic additive manufacturing method to help make the construction industry more sustainable. Unlike concrete 3D printing, the process does not require cement.
Libraries | Sep 12, 2024
How space supports programming changes at university libraries
GBBN Associate Sarah Kusuma Rubritz, AIA, uses the University of Pittsburgh's Hillman Library to showcase how libraries are transforming to support students’ needs.
Adaptive Reuse | Sep 12, 2024
White paper on office-to-residential conversions released by IAPMO
IAPMO has published a new white paper titled “Adaptive Reuse: Converting Offices to Multi-Residential Family,” a comprehensive analysis of addressing housing shortages through the conversion of office spaces into residential units.
